# Butterfree's Name



## FlygonTheGreat (Oct 29, 2014)

One thing I never understood about Butterfree is that she doesn't like being called by her real name, from what I've seen when people did call her by her real name "Hlín" she goes berserk on them... Why? I've never seen anyone act so angry about being called their name, It's a simple formality. I don't have a problem with people calling me "Sean" even though it sounds completely retarded to me, so yeah.


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## Phantom (Oct 29, 2014)

A lot of people don't like to be called certain things. I don't mind being called by my first name online, but some people do. It's a respect and a privacy thing. If they ask you not to, you don't, simple as that. 

Personally, I've never seen her go "berserk" on anyone really for calling her by her first name. I don't think I've ever seen anyone here do that in all the years I've been here, actually. Even back on IF.


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## Music Dragon (Oct 29, 2014)

FlygonTheGreat said:


> One thing I never understood about Butterfree is that she doesn't like being called by her real name, from what I've seen when people did call her by her real name "Hlín" she goes berserk on them... Why? I've never seen anyone act so angry about being called their name, It's a simple formality. I don't have a problem with people calling me "Sean" even though it sounds completely retarded to me, so yeah.


Well, for one, birth names hold a great deal of power! You know, for spells and such. That's probably it. Oh, and try not to use the word "retarded" like that. It also holds a great deal of power.


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## kyeugh (Oct 29, 2014)

It just makes her uncomfortable, if I recall.  I really hate it when people refer to me by my given name.  If I wanted people to call me that, I would have made it my username.  People just have preferences, it's not really something that requires very much analysis.


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## Flora (Oct 29, 2014)

from the site's About Me page said:
			
		

> Please don't call me Hlín online, however; I like my name just fine, but  when I'm reading English, my brain is firmly in my-name-is-Butterfree  mode, so being suddenly addressed by my real name just feels jarring and  overly-intimate rather than friendly. (I really mean that: it weirds me  out. If you want to make the conversation casual and personable,  calling me Hlín is _not_ the way to do it.)


That would be why!


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## ultraviolet (Oct 29, 2014)

why are we all talking about this? i thought it was firmly established that Butterfree was kill???


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## Vipera Magnifica (Oct 29, 2014)

She just prefers to be called by her alias

Her antialias

Her antialiasis?


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## hopeandjoy (Oct 29, 2014)

I mean, I'm kinda similar myself. I don't mind people knowing that my name is Rebecca, but when I'm online I'm pretty firmly in "I'm hope" mode.

Of course, I feel weird calling anyone by their real names online.


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## Kung Fu Ferret (Oct 29, 2014)

I don't care what call me on here, as long as I'm not offensive. I keep my real name a secret online. If you're too lazy to type my whole username, KFF works... or maybe just Ferret.


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## Worst Username Ever (Nov 1, 2014)

I can understand that to some extent - while my real name is Silke, online I mostly go by the name Zanreo (well, most other places than here, where I joined 2012 or later) and that's what people know me as (though a lot of them do know my real name, and I don't keep it a secret if they wanna know). When people I only know online suddenly call me Silke out of nowhere, it's always rather unexpected. I don't really have a problem with it and people can call me that instead of Zanreo if they want, but when online I'm usually in a sort of ""my-name-is-Zanreo"-mode so it tends to catch me off-guard a bit.

And when talking to my online friends who are better known by/usually uses their nickname instead of real name, I usually use that instead of their real name. Though, I don't use other people's names that often at all when talking to them, nicknames or otherwise. It feels a bit... personal, or not sure how else to describe it.


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## Equinoxe (Nov 1, 2014)

Worst Username Ever said:


> Though, I don't use other people's names that often at all when talking to them, nicknames or otherwise. It feels a bit... personal, or not sure how else to describe it.


I feel the same way, I usually just call people 'you' or 'human ' or something because it feels weird and uncomfortable to call people by their names. Good to know I'm not the only one like this, haha.

I rarely tell anyone on the internet my real name since it's a) not particularly common even here & I'm paranoid, b) nobody really needs to know it and c) you'd all just pronounce it grossly wrong in your heads. Plus, I feel slightly awkward in even real life when people call me by my name (especially if it's someone I don't know very well), so to me it's better to just be Equinoxe or whatever my username happens to be in a specific place.


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## Jolty (Nov 1, 2014)

i call most of my online friends by their internet nicknames because that's what they prefer. i think that's pretty common for most people online anyway 

i used to be called jolty 100% of the time by my friends (and anyone else) but now most people call me by my real name which is fine with me because it's my name and i chose it and it doesn't make me feel weird and shitty like my birth name does. even seeing my birth name anywhere is like "pls get this away from me"

maybe that's why most people online prefer their internet names to be used. because they chose them themselves.


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## Autumn (Nov 1, 2014)

my best friend was someone I met on the internet almost 8 years ago and have met twice in person. we obv know everything about each other. I still call her by her internet handle because her real name is weird to me lmfao


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## Butterfree (Nov 2, 2014)

FlygonTheGreat said:


> One thing I never understood about Butterfree is that she doesn't like being called by her real name, from what I've seen when people did call her by her real name "Hlín" she goes berserk on them... Why? I've never seen anyone act so angry about being called their name, It's a simple formality. I don't have a problem with people calling me "Sean" even though it sounds completely retarded to me, so yeah.


I'd be interested to hear where you think you've seen me go berserk at someone calling me Hlín online, because I... don't? Like, that's not a thing that angers me, it's a thing that's mildly weird to me. The way you'd probably find it mildly weird if somebody insisted on referring to you by your full name at all times. I doubt that would inspire frothing rage in anyone unless they have some very bad memories associated with it or something, but you'd probably think it sounds weirdly like your parents scolding you or something. It's the same kind of thing - a name from a different context than the one you expect.

The only reason I bring it up on my About Me is that some people on the Internet make a point of using people's real names in personal conversations with the intent of making it more friendly and personal, and they'd probably rather know if they'd be unintentionally weirding the other person out instead.

It's not even that it makes me _uncomfortable_, it's just... mildly awkward. Water Pokémon Master has been calling me Hlín for like a year and I don't even mind enough to tell him to stop; I just think it sounds kind of weird and silly.


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## Meowth (Nov 3, 2014)

ultraviolet said:


> why are we all talking about this? i thought it was firmly established that Butterfree was kill???


the undead have names too :(

But yeah I never realised just how weird being called by your real name online is until I changed my internet handle, I have this jarring little moment whenever internet people address me anything besides "Sang" these days. Though I guess calling me by my real name is pretty much ingrained into most people on this forum and it feels a little silly expecting anyone to just change what they're used to calling me.

also wue your name is like the best thing


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## Herbe (Nov 3, 2014)

I'm uncomfortable with names in general. Whenever someone mentions me by name in a post, I get uncomfortable. But when someone calls me Lily online, I'm in *extremely inching away mode.* unless it's a friend irl and I know their real name too.


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## Zero Moment (Nov 3, 2014)

Lilypad said:


> I'm uncomfortable with names in general. Whenever someone mentions me by name in a post, I get uncomfortable. But when someone calls me Lily online, I'm in *extremely inching away mode.* unless it's a friend irl and I know their real name too.


But... Your name. It is Lilypad. ?????


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## Zora of Termina (Nov 3, 2014)

Everyone calls me by my real name anyway. :D


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## Meowth (Nov 3, 2014)

Your username gives them little alternative!


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## Zora of Termina (Nov 4, 2014)

Sangfroidish said:


> Your username gives them little alternative!


That's only 75% of the point, shush.


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## Arylett Charnoa (Nov 7, 2014)

Hee, people typically think my real name is Arylett because I specifically made a name for myself on the internet that sounds like an actual name. It's not. :P 

But I still hate being called by my real name. In real life or online, because I've gotten far more used to being called Arylett due to being a person with not really any real life friends. I just see my real name as being cold and impersonal, whilst Arylett feels more like me. So I can relate to that.

Although my real name will be changed to a different name in about a year or so's time, so there you go! We can forget that horrid thing ever existed.


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## kyeugh (Nov 7, 2014)

Arylett Charnoa said:


> Although my real name will be changed to a different name in about a year or so's time, so there you go! We can forget that horrid thing ever existed.


You aren't changing your name to Arylett, are you?


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## Herbe (Nov 29, 2014)

Zero Moment said:


> But... Your name. It is Lilypad. ?????


That's not exactly what I meant. When people call me Lilypad online, I get uncomfortable, purely because I usually am never referred to by name. When people call me my real name, Lily, it gets me really uncomfortable because my real name is a weird thing to be called online.


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## Lord Mewtwo (Sep 16, 2016)

FlygonTheGreat said:


> One thing I never understood about Butterfree is that she doesn't like being called by her real name, from what I've seen when people did call her by her real name "Hlín" she goes berserk on them... Why? I've never seen anyone act so angry about being called their name, It's a simple formality. I don't have a problem with people calling me "Sean" even though it sounds completely retarded to me, so yeah.


I don't see the problem, the preference for anonymity on the internet is common and safest. 

Aside from Facebook where my RL friends and family co-exist with me and on Twitter solely for my interactions with my favorite actors, I never even reveal my true name on the internet. If I am required to use a real name as opposed to a user handle, I use an alias. 

Some have a very personal regard of their true identity so the use of it on the internet where one is among strangers can be considered a sacred privilege.
There have in fact, been individuals who have had a strong enough familial-like regard of me to earn the knowledge of my true first name but they are very few. 

Especially on the internet, true names can hold a lot of power because they can be the key to the rest of one's identity. 

There are also those, like myself who do not like their given names. 

Also on a side note, please do not use the term 'retarded' in that context, ironically it as well has a powerful interpretation. It can be considered offensive.


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## Negrek (Sep 16, 2016)

Given that it's been two years since this discussion was happening, and considering the context, I think I'm just going to lock this.


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